Beneath the Surface
by Guilty-of-Obsession
Summary: Looking beneath the surface is the basis of being good shinobi. So they don't take the Uchiha coup d'etat for what history dictates. They find that it goes back further than they expected and into the founding of Konoha. They find a way to go back to stop it, but they get separated. Naruto and Sasuke vanish. Sakura loses her memories and is found in the forest by Uzumaki Mito.
1. Chapter 1

" _What do you remember? Do you remember anything at all?" Asked a red-headed little girl with a missing tooth, wearing the most expensive kimono you will ever see on a child._

" _I remember that my name is Sakura." Answered a pink haired girl around the same age, wearing nothing but mud and dirt. Not a single article of clothing on her body._

" _Wait here. I'll go get my Momma!"_

* * *

Walking down the beaten path that cut through the forest, Sakura stole a glance at her best friend. It was obvious that Mito was on cloud nine. Even though there were other people around them, namely Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Senju Tobirama, herself and a few maids, Mito and Hashirama were in their own little newly-wedded blissful world. She could see Izuna making disgusted faces to Tobirama, while the latter rolled his eyes in her direction at the childish antics of the younger Uchiha. To her, it was so endearing that she couldn't help but let out a gentle smile and send a secret prayer to God to keep her best friend happy.

It's been almost fifteen years since Mito found her in the woods; dirty, scared, lonely, beaten and broken. It took the head family of the Uzumaki clan two full weeks to gain the trust of a six-year-old Sakura enough that she allowed them to take her home with them. It was mainly due to her starting to trust Mito that she allowed the adults to finally carry her with them to their home, and stop coming out to that part of the woods every day to coax her out of her shell. It took Sakura six months to trust the adults. But for some reason she was never able to fully trust anybody, nor does she think that she ever will. Not even Mito. And it's not like she actively doubts her best friend at every turn, but there will always be a little voice at the back of her mind telling her to be careful, that she was betrayed once -not that she remembers the details, mind you- and that it could happen again.

As they near the newly-formed village hidden in the leaves, Sakura's mind starts to wander.

* * *

 _She sits up in her futon, panting and gasping. Trying to catch her breath and clutching her blanket to her chest._

" _Another nightmare, Sakura-chan?" Asks Mito sleepily from the futon next to hers._

" _Yes," Answers Sakura, searching for the gleam of Mito's eyes through the darkness of the room, "Are you sure there are no bodies in the woods, Mito?"_

" _Yes. Papa and his men searched the whole forest. They found imprints of three small bodies in the moss around the tree. One they suspect to be yours, but no bodies. They took you there, Sakura-chan." Mito explains patiently to Sakura, just like she's been doing for the past two years since they found that spot in the forest._

" _I know, Mito. I know. And that part of the woods is the same place I see in my dreams. Except, in my dreams, I see two bodies, face down. One with blond hair and the other with black."_

* * *

Over the course of the last fifteen years, she started remembering bits and pieces of what happened before Mito found her in the woods. Little tidbits, like eating wildflowers when she was hungry. Or animals helping her keep warm at night. Or how she actually had a nightgown on at one point in time. Or that horrible dream in the forest. But she could never remember what happened to her nightgown. Or what caused her to have several broken bones and lots of bruises when she was found. Or who those kids were. Not even what they looked like or if they were male or female. The Uzumaki shinobi looked for those two kids for a long while, especially after seeing those imprints in the forest, but they couldn't find them and eventually gave up.

Sakura still keeps an eye out, even after all these years and all the changes that must have happened, she's sure that they would at least remember her pink hair, and would be searching for her too if they were alive. She still holds on to a little hope of finding out who she actually is.

Snapping out of her thoughts Sakura stops dead in her tracks and whips her head to the right so fast everyone around her can hear something in her neck crack.

"Oh, dear God! Mito!" She calls out as she drops her bag and takes off in a run in the same direction she was looking at, and into the woods at that side of the road. She can feel the five shinobi following her, leaving the maids unprotected, which she knows is a stupid move, but she can't stop.

"Child don't!" She yells as she sees a five-year-old black-haired child purposefully throw himself off the cliff. She could feel the shocked and horrified gasps from behind her as they begin to slow their pace, but she doesn't slow down. With her hand outstretched towards the oddly placed zipper on the back of her red shirt, she jumps after the child and down the cliff.

* * *

The last thing Madara sees is the back of Sakura's red shirt as she stretched her hand to the horizontal zipper on the upper-back of her shirt, undoing it. Then she wasn't there, and it took him a moment to register that she _actually jumped over the cliff_. This pink haired woman, who wears pants in a time where women wore kimonos, an oddball that he couldn't get a read on, even though he's been around her for the duration of the two weeks it took to get Hashirama married, packed and on the road back to Konoha, has jumped after a child from his clan.

And yes, that child was from his clan. He knows this because he knows the back of that child's head like he knows the back of his brother's head. That child is Uchiha Itachi, the son of Uchiha Fugaku, his first cousin (And even though Madara is older than Fugaku, the younger Uchiha got married eight years ago, while Madara is still giving his clan elders a hard time in settling down). He knows that that child is Itachi because he considers the kid his nephew. Even if Fugaku doesn't like their relationship, he can't directly say anything to the Uchiha clan head. For some reason, Fugaku doesn't like Madara all that much, but Madara just adores Itachi.

What could have happened in the span of two weeks that would make Itachi want to kill himself?! And why would this pink-haired woman throw herself off a cliff after a kid she doesn't even know?! That kid is an Uchiha and if anything happened to him or the girl he wouldn't forgive himself! Itachi for obvious reasons, but Sakura … if anything happens to her while she tries to save an Uchiha, Mito would get sad and angry, and she just became the Senju matriarch, and that will drive a wedge between the Uchiha and Senju when they've been working _so hard_ on ending this war! Not to mention that the Senju brothers are close to Sakura herself, what with how the Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan are allies and they most likely grew up together.

All these thoughts cross Madara's mind in the duration of time it took him to stop at the edge of the cliff after seeing Sakura leap off. As he makes to leap after her, he feels an outstretched kimono-clad hand in front of him preventing him from doing so. He looks up at the owner to find Mito has stopped him from going after her best friend. "Sakura can survive that fall, but I don't think any of us can. We should scale the rocks with caution."

"But that kid .. !" Exclaims Izuna, but Hashirama cuts him off, "Is in good hands. If anybody could save him, it's Sakura-chan."

By now Mito was already ahead of them and making quick progress of going down that cliff while hiking up her kimono so she doesn't trip. They quickened their pace when they heard Sakura plead with the kid to take her hand.

* * *

Sakura always loved that feeling of falling. It always made her feel free, like nothing in the world mattered and that her problems are melting away behind her, making her feel weightless. But this didn't make her feel free or weightless at all. It made her feel terrified. She was falling, trying to catch the kid, and she was so close to him. All she needed was for the kid to extend his hand. But it didn't look like he would. Every time she pled with him to take her hand, he'd just look at her with heartbreak, defeat and _so many emotions that a five-year-old shouldn't even know_ in his eyes. They were nearing the ground rapidly and no amount of pleading is working with this kid. It was up to her to save him even if he doesn't want to be saved.

Closing her eyes in concentration and holding her hands close to her chest, she shifted them into the Bird seal and focused chakra into her back. She opened her eyes just in time to see the kid's reaction; the widening of his eyes, the open-mouthed shock, the childish wonder on his face. _That_ is what a child's expression should look like. Sakura smirked as she was finally able to wrap her fingers around the cloth of his shirt and yank him up and into her arms.

They were too close to the ground for her to be able to use her 'jutsu' for anything other than that initial burst of speed. She can't put the 'jutsu' away, to save it from damage; because that takes up a little more time than she has. So she did the only thing she could think of; she wrapped the 'jutsu' around the both of them and braced herself for impact.

* * *

When Madara broke through the trees and into the green clearing at the base of the cliff, taking the lead of their little group, he could honestly say that he was never expecting to see something like this. Sakura was lying on her back, semi-straight, knees slightly bent with her head to their left and legs to their right, and Itachi curled up in a ball on her chest, bawling his eyes out, begging her to forgive him, while she hugged him close to her chest, soothingly rubbing his back and whispering sweet nothings into the boy's ear. And even though Madara never expected to see Itachi cry, just because he isn't that type of kid, being too mature for his age, that's not what has him stopping in his tracks.

It was Sakura. Or rather, what was under her. Huge, white, angel-like wings were sprouting out of her back. The one to her right was spread out naturally to the right, but the one on the left was inside out and at an odd angle, which must be painful. As if confirming his thoughts, he hears Mito whispering to Hashirama, "We have to help her, Hashirama. Her wings are extremely sensitive. I once plucked a _loose_ feather and she was bed-ridden for three days! This must be extremely painful for her!"

Hashirama looked at his bride and with concern evident in his eyes said, "My chakra can heal her if it's broken, but-"

"It's not broken. It's just dislocated." Called out Sakura from her place on the ground. As soon as she spoke, Itachi's head shot up and looked in their direction. As soon as he saw Madara he leaped up and ran in his direction. Madara couldn't see any sign of the kid slowing down, so he braced himself so he wouldn't topple over when the kid slammed into his legs and looped his hands around Madara's thighs.

Itachi looked up at Madara with tears in his huge _adorable_ eyes, and exclaimed, "Uncle Madara! You have to help her! You know how to set wings!"

Madara frowned. "Itachi, I don't think that this is the same as setting a fallen bird's wing."

"Actually," Says Mito, "it's exactly the same. Whenever her wings were injured, our vet was the only one who knew how to help. He said that it was extremely similar to bird wings."

After seeing all the hopeful looks sent his way, Madara nodded and motioned for Itachi to let him go, so he could walk over to Sakura. As Itachi ran back to the prone woman, Madara caught sight of his brother trying to contain his laughter at his brother's expense, even if Madara couldn't even fathom what was funny about this situation, he barked at his brother, "Izuna! Go back to the maids and bags!"

Izuna opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Madara's face had him snapping his mouth shut and turning to go back the way they came with a bowed head and a defeated sigh. He couldn't help but give Tobirama the finger though when he saw the Senju's smug look.

"Izuna! Stop being so crude!" Barked Madara at his brother; which made the younger Uchiha hightail it out of the clearing with a startled yelp.

When Madara turned back to the pink-haired beauty lying on the ground, he found her trying to coax Itachi back into her arms, and succeeding. He noticed the careful way she moved, as if not wanting to move her neck, and narrowed his eyes. He approached and kneeled by her head. Mito was clutching Hashirama's hand tightly, and flinching into his side, as if she was feeling her best friend's pain, while her husband rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

Madara ignored Tobirama's hawk-like gaze and spoke directly to Sakura.

* * *

Sakura has been around Madara for two weeks since it was both of their best friends that were getting married, and she's noticed that he is a very reserved person. A bit standoffish and arrogant when you speak to him for the first time, which puts most people off at first. But after interacting with him these past couple of weeks, she found out that he was just socially awkward and hid it behind a reserved and formal poise. But there was always a sense of gentleness in his eyes, sometimes more obvious when he was dealing with certain people. Namely when talking with his brother or Hashirama. She couldn't see his face when he was talking to Itachi-chan, because of the pain that she _knows_ she will feel if she moves her neck, but she will bet that his eyes _were_ actually soft while talking to the kid.

But she's never heard him speak softly. When he kneeled down by her head he said in a voice that was so gentle, soft, deep, and _warm,_ so much so, that Sakura got a little lost in it, and took a little longer than usual to comprehend what he was saying.

"I know that you don't want to move your neck, but I need to lift you in order to set it right. So I'm going to support your spine with my arm until you're in a sitting position, then let you support yourself. Okay?"

"Alright," Sakura said softly, as she tightened her hold on a sniffling Itachi. She just hoped that Madara knew what he was doing.

* * *

Madara carefully slid his hand, palm open and up, under Sakura's pink head, and kept going down, slowly to minimize her pain, to her neck. He was so focused on not jostling her neck, that when he reached the area of her shirt below that oddly placed zipper, he was caught off guard when his fingertips came in contact with the skin between her wings. He didn't show any outward reaction, but he felt oddly … calm, as he slid the length of his arm to align with her spine. By the time he reached the base of her spine, Madara's head was next to Sakura's on the ground.

"Brace yourself," he whispered near her ear using the same voice he used when he approached her, "I am going to lift you now."

He could see Sakura take a careful breath and close her eyes. Taking that as his cue, Madara started to lift her into a sitting position, while keeping his right arm perfectly straight, his left hand holding the wing in position close to her back so it won't get worse. But even with all his precautions, he could feel her wince slightly, but she said nothing.

When she was fully sitting, Madara looked at Itachi, who was looking over Sakura's shoulder at Madara and said, "Itachi, don't move around. Jostling her is going to hurt her." Madara was pretty sure the girl should have passed out from the pain she must be in right now. The pain was causing her to tense herself so much, that a lot of veins on her slightly large forehead are showing. That just means that Madara should get to working on setting her … wing … as fast as possible.

With that thought, Madara started analyzing her right wing, to get an idea of how he's supposed to set the left one. He, of course, had his Sharingan on ever since he saw Itachi jump off the cliff, which made analyzing everything very fast. Giving himself an assuring nod, he stood up, still supporting her left wing, and positioned his hands in the way that would make it most efficient, and said, "This is going to hurt." Then he twisted, aligned, and pushed her wing into its rightful place.

Sakura let out a strangled scream and tightened her hold on Itachi while Madara worked. She started to loosen up her hold on the kid as soon the pain began to fade. It took her a few seconds to realize that Hashirama was behind her, sending healing chakra into her back, to soothe the pain. Madara was crouched in front of her, looking at Itachi, who was hiding his face in her chest, refusing to look at his 'Uncle Madara'.

Sakura caught Madara's attention and gave him a gentle smile when he looked at her. "Thank you, Madara-san." She said sincerely.

Gazing at her softened features, Madara said, "Actually, thank you." At her curious look, he elaborated, "You saved one of the few people I hold very close to my heart. I could never thank you enough. The Uchiha clan owes you a great debt."

Looking really uncomfortable with the praise, Sakura said, "You helped me in return. I think we're even."

Frowning and feeling kind of awkward, Madara said, "But you wouldn't have been hurt in the first place if it weren't for-"

"Alright, alright. We get it. You both are grateful for each other's efforts. No need to keep talking about it." Says Mito waving around her hand-held fan sassily, as she moved to stand beside Sakura.

Sighing at her best friend's antics, she sent an apologetic smile towards Madara, who responded by shaking his head in exasperation. Madara turned back to looking at Itachi, who still refused to look at him. He was a little baffled that the kid was practically _cuddling_ into a stranger's hold. The kid was never coddled and didn't seem to care for it. Then again, his father, Fugaku, was a very stern man, who could be preventing such things, when the child actually needed them.

He was shaken out of his musings when Sakura turned to Hashirama, who came to stand at her other side, "Thank you Hashirama-nii. But, can I ask you something?" at his beaming and proud smile and enthusiastic nod, she asked, "You don't know what you're actually doing when you use your healing chakra, do you?"

At this, Hashirama's face slacked in shock, and Tobirama gained an amused tint in his eyes as he looked expectantly at his brother, with a sadistic tilt to his lips, expecting a comical display, but was severely disappointed when he heard Hashirama's laugh. Not only was his brother laughing, he was bent over and slapping his thigh with mirth. Everyone was looking at him with varying degrees of shock. Even Itachi peeked at the huge man with the booming, deep, goofy and happy laugh.

Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, Hashirama said, "You are right, I don't know what it is that I'm doing when I heal someone." Tobirama looks like he's lost all interest in the conversation, so he turned around and headed out of the clearing.

"T-tobi! Where are you going, baby brother?" Hashirama called after him.

"I'm going to make sure Izuna isn't harassing the maids." And Madara didn't even have it in him to be offended. Knowing his brother like he does, that's exactly what he'd be doing.

* * *

"A-anyway," said Hashirama, as he turned to face Sakura, who was standing up, still carrying Itachi in her arms, "How did you know?"

"I'm a medic, Hashirama-nii," Sakura said as she rubbed a sniffling Itachi's back as he buried his head in her neck, "I could feel the way you were shoving your chakra into my back without directing it to do anything."

Hashirama had the decency to look embarrassed. She smiled at him and offered, "I could teach you if you want? I don't think you want to know all the biology and theories behind everything, but I could give you some useful tips that will help you heal more efficiently?"

Hashirama seemed really happy about that, but before he could open his mouth to accept, Mito yelled, "Hey! You refused to teach me healing until I knew most of the theory behind it! Not fair!"

Looking down at the fan pointed at her face, Sakura said, "Hashirama-nii has _natural_ healing chakra. Most of his chakra is green, which means he won't accidentally _fry_ his patients, Mito."

As Mito's face turned as red as her hair, she lowered her fan and crossed her arms defensively over her chest. She grumbled under her breath, "ONE time, Sakura, it was one fish, and you've never let me live it down!"

Sakura raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her best friend, who huffed and turned away.

Looking down at the compressed ball of cuteness in her arms, she sees him fixated on Mito's long, red hair. Sakura raises a wing, and with the tip, she tickles his noses and laughs softly when he scrunches up his nose cutely and sneezes.

Getting uncomfortable with the stare Madara is giving her wings, she makes the bird seal behind Itachi and stretches her wings upward, then starts to pull them into her back. By the time they're gone, Itachi is practically hanging off her shoulder, eyes wide and looking at her back, trying to understand how everything works.

"Itachi," Calls out Madara calmly. And even though there is no hostility or reprimand in the older Uchiha's voice, Itachi still flinches back into her hold. Belatedly, Sakura realizes that it's from shame and not fear. "You do realize that you will have to explain yourself. Right?" Madara continues softly, but sternly. Itachi nods but doesn't say anything. Madara sighs and ruffles the kids head. "I'm not angry with you. We'll talk when we get to the compound. Alright?" At Itachi's nod, Madara turns to Hashirama, "I'd appreciate it if nobody spoke of this until I can figure out what exactly is going on."

All the adults nod their heads in acceptance. "Well then, shall we head back? We're almost near the gates." Asks Hashirama happily. Sakura lets out a small smile at her brother figure's easy-going attitude. It's a breath of fresh air to know that at least one person will never judge you so easily. It helps her ignore Madara's gaze and focus on getting the child in her arms to talk to her. She doesn't blame Madara for his curiosity, after all, how many people out there can sprout wings? He'd be foolish for not having questions, and anybody who has ever heard about Madara, knows that he's a lot of things; foolish isn't one of them.


	2. Chapter 2

" _You're new." Says a ten-year-old Tobirama rudely._

" _H-hai." Says Sakura from behind Mito with a sense of Déjà vu. For some reason, her mind showed her Mito's red hair fading into a platinum blond. Shaking her head to clear it, she focused on the situation at hand. It's been a couple of months since she started living with the Uzumaki, and her crippling shyness still can't seem to let her step out from behind Mito._

" _Hey! Tobi! Don't harass Sakura-chan, you meanie-head!" Yells Mito defensively, with her hands on her hips, glaring with all her might at the albino kid._

" _What are you going to do about it, tomato-wanna-be?" Asks Tobirama in that tone that only big brothers can manage when they're being jerks._

" _I'm not afraid of you!" Says Mito as she charges at him. And she's not, afraid of him. She's ready to fight him and bring him down, too! The only problem is, he's older than her. Which means his limbs are longer than hers. So when he places his hand on her forehead and extends his arm out, she is left wildly swinging at air._

 _Sakura couldn't contain her giggle at the comical sight, but the tiny sound seemed to get lost in the whirlwind of their screaming, insult-throwing match. She stiffens when she feels a hand on her head. Looking up she sees Hashirama, Tobirama's brother, wearing a huge, sunny smile. "Welcome to the family, Sakura-chan! I'm your new nii-san!"_

 _Sakura decides she likes him._

* * *

Hashirama leads to a route that allows them to get back to where they split off from the others without scaling up the cliff. During that time Sakura had her head ducked into Itachi's ear and whispering to him softly. The boy would nod, shake his head or whisper back to her, without taking his head off her shoulder. They looked so cuddly and _comfortable_ and he felt just _a little_ jealous of the amount of … breast Itachi is so close to but doesn't know the significance of. The image in front of him was too pure compared to his thoughts and if Madara didn't know any better, he'd say that they were mother and son.

But he did. He knew better. He knew that Itachi never acts this way; cuddling and being clingy. _What happened while he was away?_ That question was eating him alive, and even though he had a lot of questions about the pink haired adopted Uzumaki, he was more concerned with Itachi's suicide attempt.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of his brother's voice. "Well, what do you know? Sakura, you look good holding an Uchiha child! Do you want some of your own? Want me to help?" Says Izuna lewdly while placing his open palm on her still exposed back.

Madara wanted to facepalm. _What the hell is wrong with this guy?!_

* * *

Sakura tensed up in anger at the lecherous comment. There was a child amongst them and they were surrounded by women! How disrespectful is this guy?! Before she could retaliate, Tobirama appeared behind the Uchiha with the fires of hell rising behind him, and slammed his fist on top of Izuna's head.

"Ow, you bastard! What was that for?!" Yowled Izuna. Tobirama just turned around and started walking towards the village as if nothing had happened. Izuna was glaring at his back so he didn't notice as Mito came up behind him and smacked him on the head with her fan as she passed him on her way to Sakura.

Taking one look at Hashirama and Madara's faces, Izuna decided that it was in his best interest to keep his mouth shut while Mito zipped up Sakura's shirt. He had no qualms glaring at a giggling Itachi though.

Sakura didn't like the younger Uchiha. He was the most un-Uchiha like Uchiha she's ever met. Not wanting to cause a scene, and feeling that Izuna got what he deserved, what with two bumps on his head, she glared at him in warning, then turned back to Itachi. After all, the kid was telling her something that demanded her attention more than any of Izuna's childish antics.

* * *

At the beginning of their trip, both clan heads decided that it would be best if somebody guarded the group from the back, and another from the front, while the rest stayed in the middle, just in case an attack occurred. Madara decided to let Hashirama walk with his new bride, while Tobirama said that Izuna was too much of a brat to be of any use. So, and under Izuna's extreme indignation, Madara and Tobirama took turns guarding the front and the back of the group. And since Tobirama went ahead after punching the younger Uchiha, Madara took that as his cue to guard the back.

Guarding the back granted him the opportunity to observe the people he was traveling with. He could see the maids gossiping. He could see when Hashirama would 'discretely' grab his wife's behind. He could see when she not-so-discretely smacks his arm with her fan. Which are things that you would consider normal, everyday things. But the longer Madara observed, the more he started to notice things that aren't supposed to be normal.

Like for instance, the maids. They are from the Uzumaki clan, sent by Mito's father to serve his daughter. And even though Madara knows that the Uzumaki aren't strict or unjust towards those who are not from the main family, there seems to be a rift between Mito and her maids. Then again, Mito actually spoke to the maids on several occasions. But Sakura hasn't, not even once. Actually, she was trying to stay away from them as much as she could, walking at the back of the group, just a few steps in front of him and to his right, so close to the edge of the forest she could disappear into it any minute. He could see the maids giving her the worst portions of food, mouthing off bad comments to the pink-haired beauty. His brows furrowed trying to think of a reason why they would do such a thing.

He knows that Sakura was found in the woods when she was younger and that she wasn't actually an Uzumaki by blood. He knows that she is moving to Konoha because she wants to stay with Mito. Considering that the redhead was the one who found Sakura, it was understandable that the pinkette would feel the most comfortable staying with her rescuer. But why would the maids treat Sakura badly? Has she done something that angered them? But Madara found that hard to believe. From what he has seen so far, that woman was a bleeding heart. Too nice to do anything that would hurt anybody's feelings. She had to be if she was willing to throw herself over a cliff and break her bones, or worse, die for a kid she barely knew. So then, why?

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard the woman he was thinking about laugh. "So it's your mother's birthday today, is it? What does she like?" She asked the child smiling up at her with slightly puffy eyes.

"She has a garden and spends a lot of time in it." Replied Itachi softly.

Madara blinked in confusion when he noticed that they were closer to him than before. Had Sakura slowed down? Looking at the rest of their group, he noticed that they, too, were closer than before. He must have picked up his pace to where he could walk close enough to them that he could hear them without realizing it. He frowned. He should be more aware of his surroundings. What if somebody had ambushed them when he was distracted?

He glanced at Sakura and saw that she was crouched at the side of the road, Itachi still in her lap, with her right hand on the ground. He cocked his head as he stood near them and watched what she was doing. As she started to raise her hand from the ground, he could see a green plant raise up after it. His eyes widened in shock. He hadn't known that anybody other than Hashirama could grow plants!

Sakura didn't let the plant grow too much, just till the point that it was up to Madara's shin. Then she swept her palm over the greenery, fingertips barely touching the branches of the small bush she created. Every place her fingers touched, a red rose bloomed. Madara was mesmerized, he hadn't realized that he'd turned on his Sharingan until he heard Itachi suck his breath in sharply in a gasp, looking between Madara and the rosebush, saying, "They look like your eyes uncle Madara!"

Rosebushes were not that common in fire country, what with the hot temperature and humidity, they wouldn't grow enough to enter the stable phase. That's why Madara didn't blame Itachi for his comment, but he was still a little embarrassed at being caught with his sharingan on. Either way, it was worth it when Sakura looked up at him from the ground and then look away with a blush on her cheeks. She busied herself with digging up around the roots and putting the plant in a plastic bag that would make it easier to carry. But Madara had seen her blush, and now he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Even if he was preoccupied with the blushing pink mystery, he could still feel that a kick was being aimed at his head, and shot his hand out to catch the offending leg.

* * *

 _Sakura looked at the boy in front of her. He was curled up into a ball out in the cold with the saddest look she'd ever seen on his face. She tilted her head to the side cutely, not really understanding what was going on. The Senju brothers left a week ago and according to Mito, weren't supposed to be back until at least a few months. So why was Hashirama back so early? And why was the sunniest person she knows looking so utterly sad? Where was Tobirama?_

" _Hashi-nii?" Sakura called out softly._

 _Hashirama's head whipped around to look at her, obviously startled. "Y-yes, Sakura-chan?"_

 _Sakura walked closer to him and crouched down next to him, being careful not to ruin the kimono she was wearing or get any mud on her white socks or her geta. "Why are you sad, Hashi-nii?"_

 _Hashirama gave her a sad smile and said, "Because I'm special. I'm so special that father deemed it important that I hide here and train rather than be there and protect Tobirama on the battlefield."_

" _How are you special?" Asked Sakura with a confused frown. Being special was supposed to be good, not bad._

 _Her brother figure raised his hand and a few seconds later, a green light appeared surrounding his hand. One look at that glowing green light, and something jostled in Sakura's mind, smearing the almost blank canvas with memories of a lost time. A fish, flopping happily on a scroll. A room full of books that she knows by heart. A couch, with a blond woman smiling proudly at her. Happiness. Clutching the life of someone and making sure it stays in their body because she_ knows _that she can do it._

 _Sakura lifts her hand, mirroring her self-appointed brother, and lets out a soft green glow from her palm. Her glow is brighter than her brothers warm almost-olive-but-not-quite green. In that moment they both know that they are more similar than they first thought, than anybody had ever thought. And Hashirama vowed to make sure that his little sister was strong enough to stay alive in this war-torn world. He already lost two siblings, he won't lose more._

* * *

Sakura was caught off guard by Itachi's comment. She knew that Madara was watching her, but she had no idea that he was looking at her with his sharingan on, so when she looked up and saw him looking at her with intensity in those red eyes of his, her body reacted on its own. Never mind the blush on her face, other parts of her body reacted in a way that they have no business reacting when there was a child in her arms. So she focused on digging up the bush while maintaining her balance with a laughing Itachi in her lap. She was so focused on her self-appointed task, that she didn't feel the assailant's chakra until it was too late.

She put Itachi, who now had the rosebush in his arms, behind her and took a defensive stance in front of him. She straightened out of her stance when she saw a black-haired kid, a little older than Itachi-chan, with the Uchiha fan on his back, dangling from the leg that Madara has in his grasp. The child was swinging wildly at Madara, while the older Uchiha just had a bored look on his face, like hanging a seven-year-old kid from his shin, at arms-length was a daily occurrence to him. And by the shouting coming from the kid, it looked like it was.

"Run Itachi! Take the beautiful lady and run! _Save_ her from this behenoth!" Yelled the kid.

"The word is behemoth, Kagami." Said Madara in a bored tone, while giving her a side glance when she started to giggle behind her hand.

"Behemoth! I knew that you traitor!" Yelled a red-faced Kagami. Sakura, noticing this holds him so Madara can release him. She rearranges him in her arms till she has her arms looped under his armpits and around his chest, with his back to her front so he could face Madara. Holding him is harder than holding Itachi since the latter is considerably … tinier than Kagami.

As soon as he is facing Madara, Kagami points a finger at him and yells, "You left us here! You didn't take us with you!" Cocking her head at Madara when she realized that the kid was no longer playing and was genuinely upset now, she waited for an explanation as she felt Itachi place down his mother's birthday gift and cling to her leg.

She could see the guilt painted on Madara's face.

* * *

Madara sighed as he looked into Sakura's emerald eyes, "They wanted to come along. I promised that I'd try my best to bring them but their parents refused." He could see the understanding in her eyes as she hefted Kagami higher in her arms and placed her chin on his head.

"See, Kagami-chan, he tried. It's not his fault." She said kindly to the upset child in her arms. Much to Madara's horror, the kid started to tear up and it looked like he was about to wail loudly. Honestly, if this kid wasn't as un-Uchiha as Izuna …

Thankfully it appeared that Sakura knew her way around kids. She immediately set him on the ground and turned him to face her now crouching form. Itachi, who came closer to stand near his cousin, started to tear up right along with him. Before they could start crying Sakura asked, "Kagami-chan what's wrong?!"

Kagami had enough control to hold back his tears to get a few sentences out, "A-a lot has happened since he left us. We don't know how to handle it or even understand most of it! We really needed him!"

He could only watch helplessly as Sakura hugged both kids and hushed them. By now he was crouched in front of them, angry and wanting to know _just what the hell happened while he was away?!_

Sakura looked him in the eye while speaking seriously to Kagami, who had his head buried on one side of her neck while Itachi occupied the other, "Listen, Kagami-chan, Itachi-chan told me what happened. I'll be telling Madara-san when we reach the village. There is nothing you should worry about, okay?"

Madara watched as she rubbed their backs and ruffled their hair, kissing their temples while speaking to the children. He was fascinated that they had calmed down when she did so. When she was sure they wouldn't start crying, Sakura stood, picked up the small rosebush from its place on the ground and handed it to Itachi. "Why don't we get going? I bet the group already reached the village. We don't want to worry them." She said with a gentle smile and a tilt of her head. Both boys nodded and, with a huge smile on Kagami's face and a small, tentative one on Itachi's, they started walking ahead of the two adults while talking about the plant in Itachi's arms, all worries seemingly forgotten. He would have fallen for it if their shoulders weren't so tense.

Sakura and Madara followed them, walking side by side. Sakura gave him a sidelong glance while adjusting the strap of her bag, the set of her jaw belying the seriousness of the matter at hand when she spoke, "Madara-san, I know that the village most likely has some celebration ready for Hashirama-nii and Mito, however, after that I need to speak with you. This can't wait, and we need to speak in a place that will guaranty that our conversation stays private."

Madara stiffened. It looks like whatever has these two children worried is bigger than he initially thought. He glanced at her and said, "You can come by to my house after everything settles down. I won't be attending the full ceremony, as I have a lot of work to catch up to. My house has multiple secrecy seals lining the walls that could be activated if need be. We should be safe there."

He barely had enough time to give her directions to his house before she was swept away by an already tipsy Mito, five minutes into their trek through the village.

* * *

Sakura stretched as high as she can as she walked to Madara's house. Her shoulder was killing her from all the dragging she was put through. Mito dragging her to celebrate. Hashirama dragging her to take pictures. Tobirama dragging her away from Izuna, then again away from Hashirama who wanted to have a drinking contest. She finally managed to slip away after Tobirama shoved the newly wedded couple into the Senju main house four hours after they arrived to the village.

Man, who knew that the Uchiha could drink so much?! She managed to run into Uchiha Mikoto, who thanked her for the rosebush. Apparently, Itachi had given his mother a detailed description of her. Not that she would be hard to find with her pink hair. The woman was nice enough, and Sakura could hardly believe that she knew of what Itachi had told her earlier that day. But Itachi was adamant that his mother knew and also played a huge role in it.

Sakura sighed as she reached the house Madara described to her. It was in the middle of the Uchiha compound and slightly larger than the others around it, showcasing the head of clan status. She anxiously knocked on the surprisingly modern door, as she felt several eyes on her back. It was slightly late, and she knew how this would be perceived in the eyes of the clan, but she _really_ needed to talk to him as soon as possible. All thoughts left her head when she heard Madara yell from inside the house, "Leave, you shameless woman!"

She had no idea what she did to deserve this. And as she slowly started backing away from the door, hurt evident on her face, because she _knows_ that the neighboring houses heard him and it won't take long for the rest of Konoha to know about this. Her life here is already ruined when she hasn't even been here for a full day!

She stopped in her tracks when the door opened and a mussed up Madara, wearing a house yukata, opened the door and dragged a scantily clad woman behind him and threw her out. She landed on her behind outside his house. Her face was _caked_ with makeup and her demeanor _screamed_ 'prostitute'. _Such a shameless woman indeed_ thought Sakura. But Sakura didn't think that of her because of her profession because only God knows what forced her into it. No, Sakura thought the woman was shameless because she was actively rubbing her legs together and _moaning_ while moving to her knees and trying to get closer to the Uchiha clan head.

"Please, Madara-sama. Let me show you how much I love you!" Said the woman in a voice so thick with lust, even the deaf could hear it.

Sakura felt herself blush when the woman tried to reach for the tie on Madara's clothing. She turned her head, embarrassed. She didn't know _why_ exactly she was embarrassed as she didn't do anything, but she still felt her blush darken all the same. Her head snapped back up in their direction when she heard a sharp slap that echoed around the compound. By now people were coming out of their houses to see what was going on and were looking with disgust at the girl. Sakura didn't know whether to join them or feel pity for her.

She heard murmurs of this being Madara's maid and not an actual prostitute. Now she understood Madara's anger, well more than the obvious. He had trusted this woman to be in his house, cook his food and she turns around and does this.

"Men!" Barked Madara, "Escort this … _woman_ outside the compound." It was obvious to all that Madara was fuming, restraining himself from calling her anything else. And it was obvious to Sakura that the clan were scrambling to obey him, afraid of what he might do in his angered state. As two buff looking men grabbed the woman by her arms and hauled her away, Madara looked at her from the corner of his eye, and she gave him an awkward smile. He tilted his head fractionally in her direction and turned to the rest of the clan, dismissing them with a look and asking one of them to stay. Sakura somehow got the impression that this man didn't like Madara. The rest of the clan turned to leave but still lingered to hear the conversation being held.

 _How nosey._ Thought Sakura with a tilted head.

"I have promised Sakura-san some time with the kids, Fugaku. They seem to like each other after having met earlier." Madara said in a calmer tone to the man, "Do you mind gathering the boys and sending them here? It is rather late, so I would prefer if they could spend the night." And even though it was worded as a polite request, it was clear that Fugaku had no choice.

"Of course, my Lord." Replied the man. He said it in a perfectly polite tone, but it lacked sincerity, which drove further the thought that this man despised Madara, but the latter didn't seem to care. Instead, he turned to her and motioned with his head to the still open door, and said, "Please, excuse this mess. Would you please join me for a cup of tea?"

As Sakura nodded with a small smile, she couldn't help but marvel at how well Madara handles situations. He _knows_ that his clan is a nosey and sexist clan, so he took advantage of that by throwing them a cover story of her wanting to see the kids, and they would believe such a thing because they think that childbearing is all that a woman is good for. That her motherly instincts will require her to seek out children wherever she goes.

And even though such thoughts would normally anger her, she couldn't help but admire the man walking in front of her. _How … keen. And a little manipulative._ Sakura thought as she gazed at his back in thought.

* * *

Madara sighed as he waited for the kettle to boil. Why did this have to happen? He still has trouble processing what happened. He had watched Sakura get swept away by her best friend after they arrived to the village, then he had mingled around enough to show enough face and prove his presence, then he headed home to relax and get a head start on the massive piles of paperwork him and Tobirama had agreed to handle until Hashirama wasn't classified as a groom anymore, which knowing the guy wouldn't be for a while.

When he arrived he had asked the maid to draw him a bath and have his tea ready when he was done washing. He then sat on his porch to enjoy the tea. He lived in the house with Izuna, but knowing his brother, he will most likely not be back tonight. He was thinking about his brother and his womanizing habits when he noticed with a large amount of alarm that he felt _unnaturally_ drowsy. He immediately dispelled the genjutsu being placed on him. Turning abruptly to look behind him, he found what vaguely resembled his maid in horrifyingly scarce clothing, holding a genjutsu seal in her hands. She had a shocked look on her face, which shouldn't have been there in all honesty. His clan _made_ the genjutsu stored in those seals. It shouldn't be too much trouble for any of them to dispel the illusion.

Madara sighed again as he remembered the _audacity_ of that woman. Even after being caught in the act she had still tried to seduce him, getting too close to his face and too handsy for his liking. He had gone out to toss her like the trash he thought she was, only to be shocked to find Sakura there. He vaguely remembered hearing a knock on his door but was too angry to remember properly.

He lifted the kettle when it began to screech, and set about making the tea. He wouldn't be looking for a new maid anytime soon. Prominent clans usually picked up war orphans or abandoned children and gave them a place to live, protection and food to eat. The boys usually grew to become shinobi and fight alongside them in the war while the women either marry into the clan or become housemaids. Almost all maids were from outside the clan, with the odd orphaned Uchiha drawn into the mix.

As Madara set a cup of tea in front of Sakura and activated the privacy seals, he noticed that she was hiding behind her hair and wouldn't look at him. He sat in front of her on a seating cushion, the low coffee table between them, and stared at her, willing her to look at him. Neither touched their teacups and he was growing annoyed.

He finally caught her peeking at him from beneath her lashes but she turned away hastily. Madara furrowed his brows as he saw her shoulders shaking. _Was she … laughing?_

It looked like she sensed his annoyance because she finally looked at his face, while struggling to hold back her giggles, as she said, "I apologize Madara-san, it's just-" She cut herself off as she let out a small giggle. At his increasingly-annoyed look, she stood up, reaching into her pocket as she made her way around the coffee table, only to kneel to his left with a handkerchief in hand and asked, "May I?"

He was mesmerized by her closeness, it took him a second longer than necessary to nod. She reached forward with the white material and gently wiped his left cheek. Pulling back to show him, he noticed a bright red substance staining the once clean cloth. Well, that explained a lot. He let out a soft snort and she followed with a giggle while reaching forward distractedly to clean his face properly. God only knows how hard lipstick is to remove.

He looked up when he felt her aura shift to include a more solemn edge. She softly murmured to him as she moved to gently rub at other spots on his face and neck, "Madara-san," Gods she was so close he could feel her breath fan his face and he had this unexplainable urge to _melt_ into her presence, "A part of your clan are not happy with your decision to pursue peace with the Senju."

That had Madara on full alert, no longer indulging in his desire to transform into a puddle while she was distracted, and all but ready to fight whoever will stand in the way of all they've worked for so far, "Explain." He demanded of the woman in front of him.

She lowered her hands into her lap and fiddled with her handkerchief as she spoke, "Itachi-chan told me that his father and some of the elders gather at Fugaku-san's house to discuss ways of undoing the treaty. He didn't go into any details because I am still a stranger to him, and the kid is too smart to trust me a hundred percent. I still think he had a moment of weakness when he did tell me what he did."

She was speaking in soft tones, obviously heartbroken by what she was going to say next, and Madara had to lean in so he could hear her properly, "He thought that if he killed himself, his father would be too busy with grief and would postpone whatever he wanted to do. He said that Kagami would know to come and tell you what's going on and you'd handle it. He thought that it was the only way to delay their plans. Madara-san, whatever they have planned, it's going to happen soon."

Madara looked into the eyes of the woman in front of him. She looked devastated by what was going on, but there was a fire in her eyes that drew him in. A fire that says _I will fight tooth and nail to prevent this peace from crashing._ And he never felt so much respect and admiration for a woman before. He couldn't tear his eyes away from hers even if he wanted to. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, neither realizing how close their faces are to each other, as they made a silent promise to each other to never allow anybody to destroy the tentative peace between the Uchiha and Senju.

"Are you going to kiss the pretty lady, uncle Madara?" Asked a young innocent voice a few steps away from the other side of the coffee table.

Both jumped in their places and turned to look at the door while trying to put as much space between them as possible without panicking and making things awkward.

"Hello, Kagami-chan." Said Sakura to the child, as she tried to politely ignore his question.

"Hey, Sakura!" They both heard, but not from the child in front of them, the voice came from the open door behind him. He rather enjoyed the confused look on Sakura's face when she heard a childish voice but didn't see the child's lips move. He smirked when Kagami popped up behind the first child and Sakura's eyes went round with shock.

"Twins?" She asked as she turned her too big eyes to him. He nodded and said, "The first one's name is Shisui, you've already met Kagami." He explained softly.

They both turned to look at the twins, only to find them standing in a row, with Itachi in the middle, all three carrying backpacks and observing the adults with heads tilted slightly to the left. Some people found it uncanny how the three of them acted similarly, especially since Itachi isn't directly related to the twins, but he found it- " _Adorable"_ He heard the woman beside him mumble, unknowingly completing his thoughts.

She stood up and headed in their direction, kneeling in front of them and pinching the twins' cheeks, "So, which one is which?" She said playfully. Madara let out a slight smile as he pocketed the white cloth Sakura left behind. He will have to get more information out of Itachi, but for now, let the kids have a little fun. After all, no matter how intelligent they are, they remain kids.

Madara watched Sakura interact with the kids and knew what was going on, but he couldn't be bothered to stop it. And as their untouched tea cups became cold, Madara started to wonder why he would give up on fighting it before it even started.


	3. Chapter 3

_Black. A soft black that was almost gray. She's seen this particular shade before. She needs to step back to see what it is because she's too close._

 _Eyes. She was looking into little Itachi's eyes. Softly rounded with childhood. She steps back more. No. this isn't Itachi. This face was more round, more innocent. This face didn't have the little beginnings of the tear-throughs that were present on Itachi's face._

 _She furrowed her brows._ Who was this kid? He looked familiar.

 _His chubby cheeks were moving, munching. His face speckled with little bits and pieces of rice as he looked at her nonchalantly. Her eyes followed his hand as he brought up a rice ball and took another bite._

 _A movement caught her attention to her right in this bright space full of nothing but them._

 _Blue. A bright blue that sparkled with life. She's seen this particular shade before. She needs to step back to see what it is because she's too close._

 _The sky. She was looking at the sky. Softly rounded and trapped within two orbs. She steps back more. No. This isn't the sky. These orbs were more clear, more human. These orbs didn't have the fluffy white clouds that were present in the sky._

 _She furrowed her brows._ Who was this kid? He looked familiar.

 _His chubby whisker-marked cheeks were moving, munching. His face full of little bits and pieces of rice as he looked at the plate in front of him. Her eyes followed his hand as he brought up a rice ball and took another bite._

 _The blue-eyed boy finally looked at her, "Are you gonna eat that, Sakura-chan?"_

* * *

She awoke with a start, body shaking and sweat pouring down her back. Gasping for a breath that she knew was there, hers to take. She couldn't remember exactly what she was dreaming about, but she didn't worry about it because she always remembered during the day. All she needed to do was focus on her breathing and get it under control.

When she finally managed to breathe normally, she tried to focus on calming her shaking body. Which in hindsight was weird since the shaking normally stopped around the time she got her breathing under control. God, she was shaking so much that her bed was shaking with her, her headboard hitting the wall.

Wait.

The sound was coming from the wrong wall. Instead of coming from the wall behind her like it should have, it was coming from the one in front of her. Furrowing her brows, she forced her senses to work properly and … she wished she hadn't.

The first thing she heard after getting over the sound of the headboard hitting the wall, was Mito. Moaning Hashirama's name in a voice that would make the most black-hearted criminals blush. Then Hashirama…. _Nope. Nopenopenopenope._

Sakura flung her covers off and got out of bed. She threw her door open, intent on crashing in Tobirama's room across the hall from hers, only to find him leaning on his doorframe glaring to the left at the door to his brother's room.

Looking helplessly at Tobirama, Sakura said, "You can hear them too, Tobi?"

He scoffed in the direction of the master bedroom and said, "Of course I can hear them. This whole house has paper-thin walls. The only reason the maids haven't heard them is because their rooms are on the other side of the house!"

Sakura hid her face behind her hand and sighed, trying to ignore the constant _bang bang bang_ and the insistent moaning that was increasing in pitch and volume coming from her best friend's room. You never disturb Tobirama's sleep. He will stay grumpy all day! Well, grumpier than usual.

Sakura jolted at a particularly loud final _bang_ followed by twin moans that made it hard to look Tobirama in the eye. Who knew that these two would be so rowdy? Peace and quiet following the embarrassing sounds made both of them sigh, shoulders drooping in relief as they bid each other good night and headed back to their respective rooms.

Five minutes later had the both of them flinging their doors open and bolting down the hall in the direction of the kitchen before Mito could complete Hashirama's name.

* * *

Madara rolled onto his back and kept his eyes closed. He had been up for a while, being an early riser. But stayed put because he knew the kids liked to wake him up. He could hear them shuffling in the hallway, trying to decide on a suitable way to wake him up. As he waited for them to make their move, his thoughts drifted back to Sakura.

She had stayed a little later than what was normal, but nobody seemed to care. He certainly didn't. she played with the boys, fixed them something to eat and tucked them into bed before leaving. But most important, she had been there when the boys told Madara what they'd seen, and Madara knew that if he'd been alone with the boys, he wouldn't have been able to handle them as well as she had.

 _The three boys sat on one side of the coffee table, while Madara sat at the other side. The four of them sat properly, not a hair out of place. He wanted to sigh when Shisui squirmed for the third time in as many minutes. That boy was so impatient._

 _Sakura had offered to make more tea, seeing as his maid was no longer in service, and they were all waiting for her to return from the kitchen. When she finally did, she sat down beside Madara and passed out the tea to everyone, beginning with Madara and going around in a circle giving herself the last cup of tea. As they waited for the tea to cool down a bit, Madara turned to the kids. "Who's going to tell me what's going on?"_

 _The three kids simultaneously glanced at Sakura, then back at Madara, then to their respective laps. They were so in sync that Madara sometimes wondered if telepathy was possible. Sakura turned to look at him and said, "I should leave. This is probably a clan matter." As she made to stand up, forgoing the tea she just made, he gently grasped her upper arm._

" _Stay," he said in a tone a little softer than he normally uses, a tone that had the kids glance at each other. "You already know the basic idea, knowing the details couldn't hurt. Besides, I would like to hear your opinion on the matter."_

 _Looking into her eyes, he could tell that she understood what he really meant. That he might need her help with this because Hashirama is busy and he was afraid of making a mess that would ruin everything beyond repair. He couldn't tell if she knew that he also wanted her to stay because he wanted to observe her more, because he found her presence calming and wanted to bask in it more. A part of him wished that she did. Another alerted him to how weird she would find it._

 _He felt instant relief relieve him from a tension in his shoulders that he didn't know was there when she nodded her head and sat back down. They both turned to look at the three kids as Sakura reached for her teacup and took a sip then placed it back down. But the kids didn't speak. Instead, they started a staring contest with Madara. He kept staring at them for a few seconds, raising an eyebrow, but eventually sighed and said in a resigned voice while giving Sakura a side glance that dared her to comment, "I give thee permission to do as thee wants, to sit as thee wishes, to drink as thee desires."_

 _Not a second later after the words left his lips, had Kagami thrown himself backward and landed on his back, his legs comically raising and falling as he laid back. A second later Shisui jumped up, slapped his hand on the table, pointed a finger in Madara's face as he leaned forward and yelled, half serious half playful, "You are to_ never _leave us here alone again! Do you even know how scared we were! Have you no heart?"_

 _Madara ignored the finger in his face and looked at a slightly fidgeting Itachi and said, "You do realize that you can sit however you want, don't you, Itachi?"_

 _After a moment of hesitation, Itachi stood up, and to Madara's slight shock, walked over to Sakura, who had opened her arms for him when she noticed him heading her way, and sat in her lap, face burying into her bosom as he wrapped his little arms around her waist and melted into her hold when she wrapped her arms around him in turn and tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear._

" _Oi, Itachi! I know you said that she gives the bestest hugs," began Kagami who had raised himself onto his elbows when Itachi got up but was cut off by Madara,_

" _It's 'best' Kagami,"_

 _Ignoring him, Kagami continued, "But you can't sit in her lap like a baby!"_

 _He could see the tips of Itachi's ears turn red as he tensed, half contemplating getting up. Sakura hugged him tighter to keep him put, and said, "Who says that hugs are only for babies, Kagami-chan?"_

 _Shisui, who was now sitting Indian style, palms resting on his knees, said, "Our father and Fugaku-sama."_

 _He could see Sakura's smile strain a little, but the kids didn't notice._

" _Tell me something," She said to the twins, "Do you two think that Hashirama Senju is a baby?"_

" _No, he's very strong and powerful and a grown man." Replied Shisui looking offended and a little horrified at the question. Madara wanted to snort at the last part but refrained._

" _But what does this have to do with anything?" Asked Kagami. Sakura looked at him and genuinely smiled while saying, "Because, Hashirama-nii always asks for a hug whenever he sees me."_

 _The twins furrowed their brows in thought as Itachi relaxed in Sakura's hold. Madara then asked a question that made Itachi tense up again and clutch at the fabric of Sakura's clothing. "Which one of you is going to start talking?"_

 _The twins looked at Itachi, which made Madara focus on him as well. Sakura placed her chin on the boy's head and rubbed his back, "The sooner you tell us Itachi-chan, the sooner we can try to figure out what to do."_

 _It took a while, but soon enough, Itachi's voice came out in hesitant a whisper as he moved his face out of Sakura's chest to face Madara, his left cheek replacing his face and getting squished in his attempt to stay as close to Sakura as possible, "They said they were going to use a special jutsu to force Uncle Izuna into killing Senju Tobirama."_

Madara rolled onto his stomach and sighed. He will never forget Sakura's reaction.

 _She's been acting strange. Ever since Itachi told them what Fugaku and the elders had planned, she's been shaking, trying to hide it by interacting with the boys. But Madara could see it because you can rarely hide things from his sharp eyes, especially when it came to his new fascination. So as soon as the boys were tucked into bed and they were back in the living room, he told her, "You don't have to worry about Tobirama, Sakura," a little jealousy seeping into his voice, "Even though I loathe to admit it, he can hold his own against my brother."_

" _But that's just it!" Sakura burst out. Shock must have been apparent on his features for she took a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone, "Tobi told me that he always held back while fighting Izuna. That even though Izuna would try his hardest and come at him with the intent to kill, Tobi always held back because Hashirama has asked him not to kill your brother. If he had killed Izuna, a treaty would have been harder. But now …"_

 _Madara continued when she trailed off, "Now if Izuna attacks Tobirama without probable cause, with the intent to kill, Tobirama will be justified in killing him. And if the elders are going to use the jutsu I suspect, then Izuna won't stop till either of them is dead, forcing Tobirama to kill him even if he didn't want to. Either way, a rift is caused between the two clans and war is easier to achieve."_

" _What jutsu are you talking about, Madara-san?" Sakura asked with a -cute, in his honest opinion- frown._

 _Madara just smirked at her, "Somebody is here to pick you up." He said as a knock sounded into the room._

Opening the door to a grumpy Tobirama was both terrifying and hilarious. Terrifying because the man was already intimidating on a day-to-day basis. Hilarious because it seemed that Sakura didn't care about his temper and just swatted his angriness away like an annoying bug.

Before they opened the door for Tobirama they had hastily agreed that Madara will stick to his sibling, while Sakura stuck to Tobirama, until Madara thought about what he needed to do. He needed a plan to end this without bringing it into the light so that the Uchiha that had nothing to do with this wouldn't be hurt in the process.

He barely held in hisgasp of pain when three weights crashed into his back. Soon after, he heard two cheery voices say, "Good morning Uncle Madara!" followed by a tiny giggle. Madara sighed, his back was going to hurt after this.

* * *

As soon as Mito and Hashirama entered the dining area that morning, hand in hand, all smiles and cheeks flushed with happiness, they felt twin murderous auras emitting from the dining table. On it were papers, spread out till the wooden material of the top can no longer be seen. Sitting next to each other are the sources of the killing intent: Sakura and Tobirama.

"G-good morning..?" Said Hashirama hesitantly, sharing a scared, confused glance with Mito.

"Oh, are you two done already? We hadn't noticed." Deadpanned Tobirama as he and Sakura started gathering papers, methodically passing specific ones to each other and sorting everything out in a matter of seconds, all the while glaring at the couple that are too afraid to move further into the room than a couple of steps.

Tobirama marched angrily out of the room, Sakura right behind him. He pushed the couple apart rather rudely, forcing them to release their hold on one another, and kept heading in the direction of his bedroom without an apology or a second glance. Sakura, on the other hand, half-shoved, half-punched papers into their stomachs as she gritted out, "Secrecy seals. Next time you two have the _brilliant_ idea of staying up all night mating like animals, _use them!_ Good night!" She snapped as she left the room, slamming the door behind her, leaving in her wake a mortified newly-wedded couple.

"Well, shit." Whispers Hashirama, his hand rubbing his forehead and, hopefully, hiding his blush as Mito hid her face in her hands, not ready to face the world, even though it was only her and her husband in the room. She will never get over this.

* * *

Sakura stretched lazily on her bed. It was around noon, she's managed to catch a few hours of sleep and is currently waiting for Tobirama to knock on her door so they could go train together. Her mind kept drifting back to what Itachi had told them the night before. No matter how hard she thought about it, she still shivered every time she thought of a new possible scenario. Some ended in Tobirama dead, others Izuna. Some had a full on war breaking out in a matter of minutes and herself -as an Uzumaki- will have to stand with the Senju, opposite a grieving Madara and facing the three kids.

And the poor kids! They've been holding on to this for _at least_ ten days! Oh, now the way Itachi clung to her made a whole of a lot more sense! The kid was scared! She should have noticed it in his eyes! She thought that she only saw sadness in his large doe-like eyes but … _black eyes, rice balls, chubby cheeks, whiskers, black, blue, "Are you gonna eat that, Sakura-chan?"_

She gasped and stood up. She started to rummage through her half-unpacked belongings, throwing sealing scrolls and clothing from her luggage across the room, looking for a leather-bound notebook with the Uzumaki symbol on it. Letting out an _Aha!_ when she found it, she immediately went to the next empty page, sat down at the desk provided in her new room and began to write. In as neat of a handwriting as she can, she started with the date, then wrote the word 'Dream' next to it. She then started to write everything she remembered from the dream.

She was so engrossed in her writing that she was surprised when she heard a sharp _ahem_ coming from the door. Turning around, she found an annoyed Mito, brow ticking and all, standing at her open door, glaring at her.

"It's rude to ignore someone who's trying to apologize, Sakura-wait. Is that….? Did you remember something?" Mito's speech turned from annoyed to excited when she spotted the leather-bound book in front of Sakura. At the pinkette's hesitant nod, "Can I read it?" Mito immediately asked as she reached for the book before Sakura could say anything, not that she would have refused, "God! It's been so long since you've last had a new dream I…" She trailed off as she started reading the new entry in Sakura's book.

"A-are … are these the two kids in the forest?" Mito asks hesitantly, at Sakura's nod, she asks excitedly, "Well? How do they look like?"

Sakura got a faraway look in her eyes as if she was seeing something that Mito can't, and in a way, she was, "One had eyes as blue as the sky, hair as golden as the sun, a smile bright as its rays. Whisker marks marred his sun-kissed cheeks, his complexion reminds me of the earth, his scent resembles it even more after it rains. He's the sun, sky and earth all rolled into one. He's _my daylight._

"The other had eyes as dark as the night, skin as pale as the moon. His eyes sparkled like rare stars in a cloudy night sky. He reminds me of the night, he revels in it and leads me to the right path even in my darkest hours. His scent reminds me of crisp night air, fire and safety. He's the moon, night sky and fire all rolled into one. He's _my eyes in the dark._

"They are my hearts brothers. We are not bound by the blood running through our veins. We are bound by the blood we've shed in our past lives, protecting one another. We are bound by failed crushes on one another, that soon evolved into something more … unbreakable than romantic feelings. They are two boys – men, that mean more than the world to me, yet I can't remember how this came to be, nor can I remember their names."

By the time she was done, she looked at Mito, only to find that the redhead had tears in her eyes. Tilting her head in confusion, she finally felt her own tears hit her hands. Neither knew exactly why they were crying, but knew that something in there was reason enough. They only snapped out of it when they noticed a slightly alarmed Tobirama in the doorway, hand half-raised to knock on the wooden frame to get their attention.

They both burst out laughing. Men and their fear of crying women.

* * *

Asking Izuna to train is the only way to keep track of his brother without seeming suspicious, so when his younger brother stumbles in, swaying and clutching at his head, while the four of them are having breakfast, Madara tells him he has a couple of hours to be ready for a training session with the kids, causing said kids to cheer loudly, which made Izuna wince as his hangover throbs against his temples in rhythm with the sound of their too-loud chatter.

A few hours later found them walking through the forest, looking for a spot to train in that is far enough away from the village as to not cause it any harm, but close enough in case they are needed. Izuna was at the back of the group, dragging his feet and sporting bags under his eyes. Not that Madara cared. His brother should know better than to stay up all night, drinking and chasing after women.

The group paused when they heard an angry feminine voice say, "Tobi, I swear to God and all that is holy if you don't stop I will kill you!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, they moved a little to the right to see what was going on, Madara glaring at his brother when Izuna bumped into them from behind, when they heard a male voice say, "It's to train your balance."

When Itachi moved a bit of shrubbery, they came upon the sight of Tobirama doing pushups, with Sakura laying on his back doing sit-ups. Tobirama was shirtless and Sakura had on a black, form-fitting tank top. The both of them were sweating and Tobirama bucked every once in a while, trying to throw Sakura off balance.

She soon got fed up with his antics, and turned around to straddle him, looping her arm around his neck and capturing him in a headlock that had him give up on his push-ups to grab her arm and try to loosen it, "You wanna try that again, Tobi?" Yelled a clearly angered Sakura.

And even though the sight of the two, half-naked and all sweaty, together made Madara want to murder someone, he nodded along when Shisui hesitantly commented, "S-Sakura-chan can be pretty scary, ne?"

From the back of the group, Izuna gulped, "Shit, she could have killed me yesterday when I hit on her." He whispered in fear as he saw Tobirama's face turn red and then slightly blue.

It looks like his voice wasn't low enough, because Sakura stopped demanding Tobirama to _tap out like the coward he is_ , and turned to look at them. They froze in place, but soon relaxed when Sakura's face was filled with her larger than life smile as soon as she spotted the kids, "Hey, boys!" She said as she let go of Tobirama, shoving him to the ground, and then stepping on him, pushing him back to the ground as he made to get up, on her way over to greet them.

"I would give you a hug but I really don't think you want to be near this sweaty mess!" She said as she kneeled in front of the kids. _Oh, you think wrong._ Madara thought as he got a front row seat to look down Sakura's shirt, as a bead of sweat rolled down her neck and between her breasts.

He thanked God that he was wearing his armor today, or his problem would have been _very obvious_. Trying to think of something else, he looked to see Tobirama standing up after having caught his breath, a slight scowl on his face directed at the pink-headed woman, who was now all smiles and giggles as she talked to the kids.

"How about you guys join us? Only God knows how frustrating it could be training with tin-man over there." Sakura said as she sent a glare in Tobirama's direction.

"Tin-man?!" Said the white-haired shinobi indignantly.

"Yes, as in, the wizard of Oz? The character with no heart? You look at him every day in the mirror." Replied Sakura. The two continued to banter, and Madara realized something. Tobirama is closer than he could ever be with the pinkette. He had more time than Madara could even dream of with her and it would be easy for the Senju to snatch her away from Madara's hands. That somehow didn't agree with him, so he stepped into the clearing and chose a moment where there was a lull in their teasing to say, "How about a two-way spar? Izuna and I against the two of you?"

Everybody looked in his direction and nodded. The children were placed a safe distance away, close enough to watch but far enough to be safe. As soon as the kids were situated, with express orders from Sakura to _not move_ , Tobirama and Izuna squared off and started to fight, dancing around each other like they have been since they first met on the battlefield.

That left Madara and Sakura to fight, and that made Madara nervous. The Uchiha clan had a known fighting style; sharingan, fire jutsu, affinity for ninjutsu and their unique style of taijutsu. But Sakura was raised by the Uzumaki, and even though she is as skilled as a blood Uzumaki in seals, she doesn't have their bloodline limit. Adding to that the fact that Madara has never fought an Uzumaki and the possibility that Sakura doesn't even fight like them at all, which made her surrounded by even more question marks and you could count Madara going into this fight blind. Which excited him a little bit. It's been a long while since he's last fought somebody new.

They started off with a moderate pace of taijutsu, fighting each other but mostly keeping an eye on the fight between Izuna and Tobirama. Soon enough, the fight between them began to heat as Madara realized that Sakura is unusually skilled at dodging and he hasn't managed to land even one hit on her, while she's managed at least two. _Time to take this seriously._ He thought as he focused more on his own battle.

Madara felt exhilarated. No matter how fast he went, how hard he hit or how sneaky he was with his attacks, Sakura either dodged or blocked. In the event that he _did_ actually land a hit, she came at him with a blow that dealt double the damage. After a while they jumped apart and, as if by some invisible signal, they started a battle of ninjutsu. She immediately raised an earth wall in front of her when she saw the first flicker of fire coming out of his mouth. For a moment he was afraid he had cooked her alive, but when he looked behind the wall he didn't find her.

Furrowing his brows and starting the search for her chakra signature, Madara's eyes widened when a hand came out of the earth to snatch his leg and pulled him underground. Two moments later he popped into a cloud of smoke. Madara, who was crouched in the trees, felt himself smirk as Sakura emerged from the ground, stones and debris falling off of her and giving her a mighty aura as she looked around, nothing escaping her fiery green gaze. He soon lost his smirk when he felt her breath tickle the back of his neck, "You do know that Tobi is the only person who can sense chakra better than me, right?"

He immediately threw himself out of the tree and onto the floor, heading back to the clearing as she gave chase behind him. As soon as he made it to the clearing, he turned around and started gathering chakra to throw a fireball at her head. He saw her eyes widen when she realized what he was going to do, then she did something that had him furrowing his brow in confusion. She just … slapped the earth with her open palm. As he ignored her weird action and got ready to release his fireball, the earth broke apart in a line from her hand to his feet, where he lost his balance. He had to cut off his jutsu in order to jump to safety, which made him start coughing.

"She just split open the earth!" Madara heard Izuna yell. He hadn't noticed that him and Tobirama had stopped their spar in order to watch, and apparently, neither had Sakura, as she stood beside a tree at the edge of the clearing to watch as Izuna almost tore his hair out in frustration. She smirked smugly in his direction and was about to say something when Madara decided to take advantage of her distraction and lunged at her, kunai in hand.

He saw her eyes widen and the words get caught in her throat. Without even turning in his direction she crouched, circled the tree she was leaning on just moments ago with her arms and _hauled_. The last thing Madara remembers is seeing the middle of a huge tree horizontally swing his way before pain exploded all over his body and then black.

His last thought was, _She hit me with a tree. I'm marrying this woman._

* * *

 _Her first fight with Mito was catastrophic. She had been with the Uzumaki for a little under a year now, and they have been taking very good care of her. They'd check out anything she remembered, gave her clean clothes, food and baths. The head of the clan treated her as if she was Mito's sister. But apparently, Mito felt neglected, so one day she snapped._

" _Leave! You're not my sister! I want my parents back!" Mito yelled with her eyes screwed shut as she started dragging Sakura's futon out of the room in a childish and irrational behavior that made her believe that wherever the bedding went, Sakura would go along with it. Sakura couldn't even remember what they were fighting about anymore but her argument caught in her throat._

 _Mito, taking her silence as a sign to continue, kept going, "They are_ my _family! Not yours! Just leave us alone!" When the redhead didn't hear anything from her pink-haired friend, she finally opened her eyes to look in Sakura's direction._

" _Alright," whispered Sakura stoically. She could feel it as her heart began stacking bricks around itself, trying to block out all feelings and emotions till she was alone and could deal with everything on her own. Her face was stone cold, her eyes dulled with repressed hurt as she felt the chakra signatures of Mito's Parents hiding behind a corner. They never wanted her, if they did, they would have intervened by now. She held her head high as she walked past Mito and out of their shared bedroom._

 _Finally realizing the impact of what she said, and fearing the outcome if Sakura actually left, Mito's hands left the futon to drop in the doorway and reached out for Sakura's kimono sleeve, "Wait!"_

 _Sakura whirled around, fast and powerful, yanking her sleeve from Mito's grasp in the process. "What?!" She snarled at her so-called best friend with a fierce green glare that had Mito's mouth snapping shut and her eyes averting in shame._

 _Sakura's fisted hand trembled by her side, waiting for Mito to say something. When it was apparent that the redhead wouldn't, Sakura asked with barely restrained anger, "Do you want me to leave or not, Mito?"_

 _Mito had her own hands at her sides, in fists so tight that her whole body was trembling when she shook her head and said in a small voice, "Don't leave."_

 _Sakura couldn't contain her anger any longer, "Then why did you ask me to in the first place?" She yelled as she slammed her fist into the wall next to her. Nobody, not even Mito's parents who were letting the girls fight it out but were still nearby just in case it got out of hand, expected what happened next. The wall that Sakura slammed her fist into crumbled into bits and pieces, the largest the size of either girls' head and the smallest … dust._

 _Everybody stood still in surprise, until the shock of the loud sound reverberated in the girls' skulls, and they both burst out crying from fright._


End file.
